Morris newspaper closure would not shock

(image from instagram)

I shouldn't have to tell you this. You might yawn at the development. But the time has come when all the doomsaying about the local print media is being borne out with real developments. Now that the time has come, your reaction is what? Astonishment? Well maybe 15 years ago it would have been. 

The doomsaying voices were getting attention back then. The name that stands out in my memory is Michael Wolff. His reasoning was quite correct. But these things take time. It takes more time than most cultural observers expect. Mainly that's because people drag their feet in adjusting to change. 

The word "legacy" gets big here: legacy institutions and habits hang on because clinging to them gives us a sense of security, of assurance. That life as we've known it can be counted on. 

But. . . What happened when we heard about the imminent closing of the Hancock newspaper? Previous to that, the owner had closed the paper's brick and mortar office in Hancock. Well, a local paper simply has to have an office, right? On or close to main street? Well yes if you cling to the fairy tale of Norman Rockwell's America. 

Most of us could sense that little by little, the new digital world was sweeping aside old norms. It can be upsetting. But the digital world allows very little resistance or hesitation. First the Hancock newspaper's office in Hancock closed. It was going to operate out of the Morris newspaper's office. Well it did for a fair amount of time. But then why bother having a Hancock newspaper any more? 

"All the news that fits?" That's a takeoff on the old New York times slogan. Who's to say there's "x" number of pages of "news" in a given week in a community? Of course the amount of news means nothing, it's the amount of advertising dollars coming in. So newspapers merely operated as businesses and money was their mother's milk. 

Of course newspapers were great for talking about how they had a role that transcended this. We hear this when government bodies propose to no longer pay newspapers for the publishing of legal notices. All hell breaks loose as papers cling to the sense of power they have always had, power that has been eroding away. 

We have heard this debate here in Stevens County. The paper gets on its high horse. The paper is positioned morally to be the source of government reports, we hear. But there is no true moral standing at all, not when papers show they are "mortal" and can simply go out of business, close their doors. Hey, I thought newspapers were divinely entitled or some such thing, to be our conscience. 

Far from it: newspapers are businesses. 

So now let me advise you: do not be surprised when the announcement comes that the Morris newspaper is shutting down. I'd use the expression "running on fumes" but that gets overdone. Hey I just did it! If the Hancock newspaper can close with no controversy, no fuss, in a community that is highly identity-conscious and with its own K-12 school system, well it can happen anywhere most unceremoniously.

I'll go further and suggest that the closing of the Morris paper would be a positive thing for Morris. That's because it would give us all a nice "prod" to further our online "ecosystem" for the sharing of information. There is obviously public demand. Where there is a demand, there will be answers. The problem with newspapers is that they have to deal with all the ridiculous legacy costs of putting out a print product. 

The paper has a building and a staff. Costs must be covered. The customer must pay. And in the past, all that was a given. And for a period of years we disregarded the obvious changes and just kept doing many things the old way. Staying in a comfort zone I guess. But those influences fade, get knocked down. 

So we see this trend really coming into the picture now, years after the "shocking" predictions of Wolff and others. Yes, closure of the Morris paper would have been a shock 15 years ago. Because it would have been a shock, it was not going to happen. When it finally does happen, which could be any day now actually, it will be accepted pretty routinely. 

 

("muck rack" image)

The biggest plus?

All the people who get their names in "district court news" for stuff like seat belt will be relieved. So this will be a step forward for community morale. The "district court news" was a staple of our Normal Rockwell culture. It didn't really benefit anyone to know all this stuff. 

Yes, we should know about the serious lawbreaking that happens and who commits it. Like, a guy found to be in possession of a "silencer." That was an old childhood friend of mine. As an aside, let me say that there have been certain local notorious people who, when they meet up with me, revert to their childhood selves from when they knew me and we were little kids. They disengage. I'm fascinated. Maybe flattered too: these people see me as a comfort source. Hey, let's be innocent again. 

 

Man of the cloth

A past minister of my church was known to be upset when he got his "name in the paper" for a minor speeding offense. "Why does it have to be in the paper?" he asked. When I have posed this question through the years, I always get the response "it's public information." Which is beside the point. Technically it is public - no doubt - but why does a private business like a "newspaper" feel it has to publish it? 

Well, certainly the paper caters to local "gossip" impulses. So it's not laudatory at all. It is petty. So I imagine many of us would be relieved if there is no longer a "local paper" publishing the court news. If I were to get another seat belt ticket, I would no longer have to worry about going to church and being teased by people! 

You are paying for so much "sports news" when you buy the Morris newspaper. All of that UMM stuff! And UMM is covered with absolutely 100 percent quality on its own website - all the bells and whistles. So why the obvious redundancy? Such an obvious question. 

Well, maybe we won't have to concern ourselves with it much longer. The newspapers in Litchfield and Hutchinson are closing. The wolf is at the door of the Morris newspaper, this thing called the "Stevens County Times." We will be uplifted.

Here's your blog host from "the old days" at Quinco Press in Lowry. Man, the hours I logged here, doing among other things loading the "Ad-viser" free ad publication on Fridays. The Ad-Viser was canceled long ago by Forum Communications in its ill-fated tenure here. I worked up such a sweat at Quinco, then upon completing all my tasks I might bounce over quickly to MAHS for covering the graduation! Hope my smell was not objectionable.

 

Addendum: I will assume that the Donnelly city council would not object to the Morris newspaper disappearing. I felt the paper showed a classic example of a paper's faux high-mindedness a few months back. This registers so clearly with me. Newspaper reporters are too quick to assume shady motivations. They don't realize how messy and complicated it is, to have responsibility with an important public body. 

I have heard newspaper people in their offices talk like such know-it-alls. It probably does not happen as often these days, with all the developments that humble their ilk. But take a look at how the Morris paper truly got in the face of the Donnelly council. And, the big heading on their website about how the reporter got "abusive" treatment. Oh my, so there were a couple of profanities. Lordy! 

The recent spate of newspaper closures in MN including Litchfield and Hutchinson have me wondering how the city councils there will have legal notices published. Your average person on the street has probably not thought about this. Many in government think direct-to-online is the clearly recommended way, actually the no-brainer way. But isn't direct-to-online becoming the no-brainer for anything you can name?

 

- Brian Williams - morris mn minnesota - bwilly73@yahoo.com